Inherited influence

Franklin standout has direct connection to award's namesake: his father

STOCKTON - Colizel Lewis has been affected by Charles Washington his entire life.

Comment

By Stephen Roberson

recordnet.com

By Stephen Roberson

Posted Jul. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By Stephen Roberson
Posted Jul. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

STOCKTON - Colizel Lewis has been affected by Charles Washington his entire life.

He just didn't know it.

Lewis, The Record's 2013 Charles Washington Award winner, graduated from Franklin High in June with a 4.5 grade-point average in the challenging International Baccalaureate program.

He was also a standout on the basketball court, earning a spot on The Record's All-Area first team as a senior and second team as a junior.

His volunteer work with Rio Calaveras Middle School, the Stockton Homeless Shelter, YMCA basketball camps and as a tutor with Phenom Sports made him a natural selection for the award, which annually honors an area high school senior for excellence in athletics, academics and community service.

The award's namesake was hired in 1962 by Edison High, which made him the first black high school football coach in Northern California and just the second in the state.

Washington's coaching career ended in 1983.

His career as an educator ended in 1986.

His work as a mentor - to kids both inside and outside athletics - ended in February 2009, when he died at age 76 three months after suffering a stroke.

One of the athletes Washington mentored was Colizel's father, Myke Lewis, who played football for Washington as a senior in 1976 before graduating from Edison in 1977.

Myke Lewis sees Washington in his own approach as a parent.

"I took a lot from him," he said. "I have high expectations, I'm very focused on what (Colizel) is doing, and I've taught him to be disciplined and very respectful to everyone else.

"Be confident, not cocky."

Colizel Lewis, a two-time first-team All-San Joaquin Athletic Association guard, fell one vote short of the league's Most Valuable Player award this winter. That says a lot considering Franklin went 1-9 and finished in a last-place tie with Tracy. MVP awards almost always go to players on contending teams, if not championship programs.

The 6-foot-3 senior finished with 1,306 career points and 668 career rebounds, a school record among guards.

"He's a team player," said Joe Marrable, a Franklin assistant the past two seasons who will take over as the head coach for the 2013-14 season. "He never tried to make himself bigger than the program. It was always about the team, no matter what. That's the type of person he is."

Marrable said Lewis' approach had a deep impact on his teammates, and not just on the court.

"He always showed the younger kids a better way," he said. "Whether it's on the court or in the classroom, he showed them that everything is possible if you put in the work."

Lewis accepted a scholarship to UC Santa Cruz, where he will play basketball for the Banana Slugs this winter.

Despite all the accolades he earned on the court, when Lewis addresses his proudest accomplishment, he skips right past basketball.

"I put in the notes of my phone when I was a freshman that I was going to graduate with a 4.5 (GPA)," he said. "I was happy when I saw my final transcript and saw the 4.5. I was stoked."

His grades were the first thing Hillary Washington noticed. Charles Washington's eldest daughter, a 1981 Edison graduate, has served on the award's selection panel, along with younger sister Cheryl, since her father's passing.

"We love that these kids go out and play sports and get all of these awards, but when it comes right down to it, it (is about) the grades," Hillary Washington said. "That's what's going to make you or break you."

Myke Lewis is a special-education teacher at Bear Creek and an assistant track coach at St. Mary's, but Colizel decided on Franklin in eighth grade because of the IB program.

"I like challenges," he said. "I decided I was going to be part of the IB program and challenge myself."

Charles Washington was a teacher, coach, father and friend, among many other things. However, more than anything, he was a mentor.

"That was something he had no interest in letting go of," Hillary Washington said. "I could tell you stories about kids who would end up on our porch at 1, 2, 3 in the morning to talk to him because they needed to talk to him. It didn't matter to him."

Colizel Lewis said the time he spends with kids is equally as important. He calls it goofing around or helping with homework, but what he has shown is he's a natural mentor.

"It's just being happy with the kids," he said. "Having good vibes and positivity makes me feel great."

Hillary Washington met Lewis for the first time Wednesday for a photo shoot and the award presentation.

She was immediately impressed.

"His first impression was great," she said. "Not only on paper, but face to face. I just knew it. We picked the right kid."